Hedgehog issue

How can you train a dog out of its natural instincts???? Doesn't seem right to me.

Thats like trying to make a lion go vegan.....yeah....good luck with that!
 
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I hate to say it, but it sounds as though the OP has the wrong dog for their household. The dog is only doing what comes natural to it, so it can hardly be blamed.

I like hedgehogs, so I think the thread title is misleading - it should be "Dog issue". :p
 
My dog had the breeding in him to hunt Lions ,Rhodesian Ridgeback ,Bull mastiff cross but he wouldn't hurt a fly. we would see him corner a rabbit, sniff it then run from it, cats he would wind up and always came out worse with a clawed nose
 
cjgardens said:
should have kept quiet about the cat thing
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Not really. I even started a thread here the morning it happened asking for advise, most responses where very reasonable.

moon man said:
My dog had the breeding in him to hunt Lions ,Rhodesian Ridgeback ,Bull mastiff cross but he wouldn't hurt a fly. we would see him corner a rabbit, sniff it then run from it, cats he would wind up and always came out worse with a clawed nose
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The difference being a century of breeding where that behavior was no longer trained into them compared to a dog that chased down a toy rabbit not 3 years ago.
 
Zefan said:
Sorry but vicious characteristics seems a pretty reasonable way to describe something like mauling a cat/other mammals. That isn't saying it's the dog's fault, but that's clearly accurate, I'm interested in how that is an ignorant thing to say.
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By definition sighthounds have a high preydrive. It's an ignorant statement in as much as it disregards the context of what happened. Most dogs will chase down a cat or small mammal on their own territory, the difference is most animals especially cats would be able to outrun them but with a greyhound that just isn't possible in a straight line. If my dog had bolted off the lead to chase down a cat in the street that would be a different matter. As I said, he's not particularly interested anymore, even when he's off the lead and we've trained him to respond well to commands (though we still muzzle him).

Edit: Deleted my previous quote post as it sounded needlessly callous. It's early and I need about 3 more cups of coffee...
 
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ArcticHeron said:
He's a greyhound, ex racer so his prey drive is exceptionally strong. We've managed to train much of it out of him to the point where he responds to commands off the lead when smaller dogs or squirrels are around, but it's one thing doing it in a foreign environment and another doing it on 'his' territory, especially when it's dark out and he sees or smells something at the top of the garden before you get the chance to respond. Had an unfortunate incident earlier this year where he got hold of the neighbors cat. Sadly the cat died but thankfully we have understanding neighbors...

With hedgehogs it more a case of being excited to show you the catch. He's responsive to commands and drops them once showing them off, but I wouldn't put it past him to ragdoll one before they get a chance to ball up.

Training the prey drive out of sighthounds isn't impossible, but it is extremely difficult.
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With the greatest respect, that, to me, is a dog out of control. If I were you, I would muzzle it, before you get a neighbour that takes huge exception to their loved pet being killed. I mean, it's just not right to let your dog kill anything that wanders in to your garden.
 
beachBOYken said:
I found a dead hedgehog in my small pond the other week:(, first one I've seen in 2 years and it was dead!

I thought they were quite good swimmers, so it must have been unwell or something injured it?
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Ponds are the biggest hedgehog killers. They try to get a drink and they topple in. There needs to be a way for them to get out or they just tire and drown.
 
SpellowHouse said:
With the greatest respect, that, to me, is a dog out of control. If I were you, I would muzzle it, before you get a neighbour that takes huge exception to their loved pet being killed. I mean, it's just not right to let your dog kill anything that wanders in to your garden.
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He doesn't 'kill anything that wanders into our garden'. It's not like I'm having to watch as he tears them apart, scared that if I intervene he might take a chunk out of me. They curl into a ball, he picks them up, looks amused when he shows me then buggers off into his crate for his 9th nap of the day whilst I put the poor thing back outside.

With regards the cat issue, as much as I was upset at the time and had every sympathy for the owner, if you're worried about your cat getting hurt on someone elses property then keep it inside. We had a cat growing up that would mercilessly hunt the magpies in our back garden, should we have muzzled her too?
 
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SpellowHouse said:
Ponds are the biggest hedgehog killers. They try to get a drink and they topple in. There needs to be a way for them to get out or they just tire and drown.
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That must have been it, as the water was down a bit, so a bit of a ledge, I plan to fill it slightly with stones or whatever in the Spring and have it filled with pond plants instead. Used to be for frogs, but not seen any in years. Have another bigger pond the other end that has a small wooden fence so no chance of hedgehogs getting into that one.
Was well sad seeing that, as it was only a baby hedgehog I think, presume there must be another one about, want to get one of them camera trap things soon.
 
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SpellowHouse said:
With the greatest respect, that, to me, is a dog out of control. If I were you, I would muzzle it, before you get a neighbour that takes huge exception to their loved pet being killed. I mean, it's just not right to let your dog kill anything that wanders in to your garden.
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What a load of nonsense. As the OP has already mentioned, sighthounds have a very high prey drive - to be fair, so do most dogs, the difference being that most of them can't hit 40mph within a couple of strides.

Where do you draw the line? Should the dog be muzzled 24/7 just in case the neighbours cat decides to climb into an open window in the middle of the night? As much as it sucks, if you have a cat who you're happy to let roam, then you have to accept the fact that something might happen to it.
 
beachBOYken said:
That must have been it, as the water was down a bit, so a bit of a ledge, I plan to fill it slightly with stones or whatever in the Spring and have it filled with pond plants instead. Used to be for frogs, but not seen any in years. Have another bigger pond the other end that has a small wooden fence so no chance of hedgehogs getting into that one.
Was well sad seeing that, as it was only a baby hedgehog I think, presume there must be another one about, want to get one of them camera trap things soon.
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Awww. Poor little thing.

I did that with my pond, I added some stones to so there was a sort of staircase.
 
Haggisman said:
What a load of nonsense. As the OP has already mentioned, sighthounds have a very high prey drive - to be fair, so do most dogs, the difference being that most of them can't hit 40mph within a couple of strides.

Where do you draw the line? Should the dog be muzzled 24/7 just in case the neighbours cat decides to climb into an open window in the middle of the night? As much as it sucks, if you have a cat who you're happy to let roam, then you have to accept the fact that something might happen to it.
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That is your opinion, but not all people think like you.

I am saying that it would be a good idea to muzzle the dog to avoid the wrath of a neighbour who thinks differently. There are plenty of people that I know who would not take the death of their pet lying down.

If you have a pet then you have some responsibility to ensure it doesn't run riot, and that includes what it does in your back garden.
 
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SpellowHouse said:
With the greatest respect, that, to me, is a dog out of control. If I were you, I would muzzle it, before you get a neighbour that takes huge exception to their loved pet being killed. I mean, it's just not right to let your dog kill anything that wanders in to your garden.
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By that logic, all cats should be kept inside. They kill birds all the time and some people value them above cats. Side benefit, it would be nice not to have to pick up 8+ cat **** before I mow the front lawn

Yes, cats are considered property, but a dog isn't considered dangerously out of control unless it's a threat to humans, so it's misadventure on the cat's part. In fact it's no different than a cat getting run over by a car. It's regrettable, but unavoidable if you leave pets unattended.

If the owner wants to go all keyboard warrior/vigilantly about it then they'll get in more trouble than I will.
 
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